THE
ARCANE
ARCHIVE
a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects.


TOP | SOCIETIES | THELEMIC

Secret Rituals of the OTO

To: alt.magick
From: rant@nyc.pipeline.com (Alfred Vitale)
Subject: Re: "Secret Rituals of the OTO"
Date: 8 Jan 1996 08:44:58 -0500

On Jan 08, 1996 02:59:46 in article ,
'tim@toad.com (Tim Maroney)' wrote: 
 
>Anthropologists have been outgrowing their assumption that initiations 
>are about the candidate, and realizing they are at least as much about 
>the initiators and the audience. We should also start grappling with 
>that inconvenient fact within occultism. 
 
 
what you are referring to is environment and context.  anthropologists are
many years behind occultists, who already know that the initiators and the
audience are integrally linked to the process of initiation.  
 
it's not an inconvenient fact.  it's only inconvenient if one is selfish
enough to be initiated into a GROUP or into a BODY of magick and ONLY think
of it in terms of SELF gratification/reward (while it is important to
remember the self in the initiation, part of it comes from the ability to
be like a stream heading towards a river...to become a verb, as opposed to
a noun.  an initiate is not an object, an initiate is a person in the act
of being initiated!)   
 
initiations, remember, are symbolic in nature...and the initiate (in
western society) is GOING to be bewildered and impatient...but the young
boy in the australian outback who sits in a bush for 2 days awaiting his
next step in a week-long initiation is not impatient or bewildered.  so
don't blame the  nature of occult groups (such as OTO) on the failure of
the initiate to relax and not EXPECT to GAIN some reward.  and the symbols
of the initiation are to be reflected on later, as well as when they are
being shown.  it reminds me of the traditional catholic mas vs. the Gnostic
Mass:  because those who partake in the eucharist at the catholic mass have
no clear context, the eucharist is nothing more than getting on line and
eating a wafer...within the context of the Gnostic Mass, the individual is
INTEGRALLY LINKED to the entire process...to the temple...to the other
participants...and so the cake of light takes on a greater individual
significance.   
 
the equation of initiation rituals seems to be:  participant + environment
+ context + group = initiation. 
 
you also said: 
>In talking to people, I have often found that they seem to >consider
watching the initiations more potent than taking them. 
 
 
well...what do you think the initiation gives them access to?  OTHER
initiations!!!  it's a process...it continues after the mere formalities
and the more initiations you are involved with, the more you will
develop...but you still need the initiations to be able to witness other
ones.  anthropolgists know THAT.   
 
-- 
alfred vitale 
a man who used to have a long signature, 
but now has decided against it in the interest 
of not boring you, the dedicated reader, to tears.  in the event that this
signature DOES bore you, i'd suggest maybe you stop reading it now.  but
apparently you still haven't so i guess you do not have the courage to
stand up for your convictions.

The Arcane Archive is copyright by the authors cited.
Send comments to the Arcane Archivist: tyaginator@arcane-archive.org.

Did you like what you read here? Find it useful?
Then please click on the Paypal Secure Server logo and make a small
donation to the site maintainer for the creation and upkeep of this site.

The ARCANE ARCHIVE is a large domain,
organized into a number of sub-directories,
each dealing with a different branch of
religion, mysticism, occultism, or esoteric knowledge.
Here are the major ARCANE ARCHIVE directories you can visit:
interdisciplinary: geometry, natural proportion, ratio, archaeoastronomy
mysticism: enlightenment, self-realization, trance, meditation, consciousness
occultism: divination, hermeticism, amulets, sigils, magick, witchcraft, spells
religion: buddhism, christianity, hinduism, islam, judaism, taoism, wicca, voodoo
societies and fraternal orders: freemasonry, golden dawn, rosicrucians, etc.

SEARCH THE ARCANE ARCHIVE

There are thousands of web pages at the ARCANE ARCHIVE. You can use ATOMZ.COM
to search for a single word (like witchcraft, hoodoo, pagan, or magic) or an
exact phrase (like Kwan Yin, golden ratio, or book of shadows):

Search For:
Match:  Any word All words Exact phrase

OTHER ESOTERIC AND OCCULT SITES OF INTEREST

Southern Spirits: 19th and 20th century accounts of hoodoo, including slave narratives & interviews
Hoodoo in Theory and Practice by cat yronwode: an introduction to African-American rootwork
Lucky W Amulet Archive by cat yronwode: an online museum of worldwide talismans and charms
Sacred Sex: essays and articles on tantra yoga, neo-tantra, karezza, sex magic, and sex worship
Sacred Landscape: essays and articles on archaeoastronomy, sacred architecture, and sacred geometry
Lucky Mojo Forum: practitioners answer queries on conjure; sponsored by the Lucky Mojo Curio Co.
Herb Magic: illustrated descriptions of magic herbs with free spells, recipes, and an ordering option
Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers: ethical diviners and hoodoo spell-casters
Freemasonry for Women by cat yronwode: a history of mixed-gender Freemasonic lodges
Missionary Independent Spiritual Church: spirit-led, inter-faith, the Smallest Church in the World
Satan Service Org: an archive presenting the theory, practice, and history of Satanism and Satanists
Gospel of Satan: the story of Jesus and the angels, from the perspective of the God of this World
Lucky Mojo Usenet FAQ Archive: FAQs and REFs for occult and magical usenet newsgroups
Candles and Curios: essays and articles on traditional African American conjure and folk magic
Aleister Crowley Text Archive: a multitude of texts by an early 20th century ceremonial occultist
Spiritual Spells: lessons in folk magic and spell casting from an eclectic Wiccan perspective
The Mystic Tea Room: divination by reading tea-leaves, with a museum of antique fortune telling cups
Yronwode Institution for the Preservation and Popularization of Indigenous Ethnomagicology
Yronwode Home: personal pages of catherine yronwode and nagasiva yronwode, magical archivists
Lucky Mojo Magic Spells Archives: love spells, money spells, luck spells, protection spells, etc.
      Free Love Spell Archive: love spells, attraction spells, sex magick, romance spells, and lust spells
      Free Money Spell Archive: money spells, prosperity spells, and wealth spells for job and business
      Free Protection Spell Archive: protection spells against witchcraft, jinxes, hexes, and the evil eye
      Free Gambling Luck Spell Archive: lucky gambling spells for the lottery, casinos, and races